Door latch and holdback.



F.E.JONES.

DOOR LA'TCH AND HOLDBACK.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 20. 1911.

224,749, Patented May 1, 1917.

' 7 E 4 ffii realm E. JONES, or sour H eorrn vrnrn, OKLAHOMA.

noon LATCH AND HOLDBACK.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 191a.

Application filed February 20, 1 917. Seria1No.:149,860.'

To all whom it may concern: H

Be it known that I, E. Jones, a citizen of the United States, residing at South 'Cofieyville, in the county of Nowata, State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Latches and Holdbacks and I doherehy declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and useth'e same.

This invention relatesto door latches and has particular reference to latches for heavy swinging doors. 1

The object of the invention is to improve the construction of door latches as they are known to me, so that a door may be readily latched or unlatched' from either side through a spring pressed instrumentality which may be easily manipulated to release the doorbut which also holds the doo1'"firinly in position until it is-actuated out of its locking position, a

A further object of the-invention is to provide a latch of this type which may be employed either asadoor latch or asa hold back to secure thedoor against the wall in open position. Alsogthe latch of my invem tion may be readily modified to provide a means for attaching a padlockin order to lock the door in itsclosed position.

With the above objects in View and such others as may hereinafter appear, my invention will now be fully' s'et forth and described, reference bei g had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a door showing it provided with the latch, and hold back constructed according to my invention,

Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section showing the hold back construction, 7

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a modified form of the latch.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates a door which is hinged in a doorway in the side of a barn or other building of that type. In the latch shown in Fig. 2, a base plate is secured horizontally to the free edge of the door and projects slightly therefrom in the form of an out- 1 turned loop 3. The loop 3 is forked to receive therebetween the bearing end of a pawl or latch 4, a spindle 5 passed through the loop 3 and-the pawll permitting the latter to swing with relation to thebaseplate. The outer or free end of the pawl l is looped outwardly to provide a latch head 6, the latch head 6 also providing an eye through which a draw rod?" is looped. The draw rod 7 extends rearwardly from the latch head and passesthroughthe vertical component 8 of a strap 9 whose shank coincides with and is secured to the base plate 2, and then is shaped into a rectangular frame which provides a bearing for the draw rod 7 and an inclosure for the pawl 4;, the third side of the frame being then turned inwardly and shaped into a lip 10 whose function will hereinafter appear. Surrounding the draw rod 7 is a coil spring 11 which bears between the inner face of the vertical component 8 and a strap 'or other securing device formed upon the draw rod, to normally press the pawl away from the component 8, or toward the lip 10. The rear end of thedra w rod 7 is pivotally connected to a rock arm 12 which is fulcrumed at an intermediate point-upon a spindle having its hearings in the base plate 2 and extends through a-longitudinal slot formed in the base plate 2 and the shank of the strap 9. The free end of therock arm 12 extends beyondthe'i-l'iner side of thedoor, and is pro vided with a hand grip 1-3 by means of which the rock arm maybe operated to with draw the pawl 4 from its locking position.

Furthermore, the outer end of the rock arm 12 is extended beyond the pivotal point of the draw rod 7 and is provided with a hand grip 14 so that the latch may be operated from the outside.

A keeper 15 is secured to the side of the doorway, and consists of a right-angular structure whose outer protecting arm is shaped at its extremity into a keeper head 16. When the door is thrown into its closed position, the keeper head 16 enters between the lip 10 and the pawl 4:, forcing the latter backwardly on its pivot, until the head 16 has passed the pawl, when the latter may snap behind the head to lock the door in its closed position. When it is desired to release the door from either side of the latter, the rock arm 12 is operated by means of either of the hand grips to withdraw the pawl from the keeper head, after which the door may be swung open in an obvious manner to free the keeper from the embrace of the lip 10 and the pawl 41:.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 5, the free end of the lip 10 is outturned into a horizontal component 17 having a longitudinal slot 18 through which ahasp loop 19 carried upon the base of the keeper 15 may project, this means being provided for l the introduction of a padlock so that the door may be locked in its closed position.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, the latch of my invention is adapted for use as a holdback to prevent a door from swinging in the wind. In this form, a base plate 20 is outturned at its forward end into a lip 21 which corresponds in formation to the lip 10 of the first form described. Mounted upon the base plate 20 is a frame 22 which consists of the vertical arm 23 and the horizontal arm 24, the latter, at its free end being overturned into a bifurcated loop between whose elements is pivoted the pawl 25 which is identical in construction with the pawl A of the latch structure. A draw rod 26 connects the pawl 25 with a rock arm 27 which is pivotally mounted in the base plate, and a spring 28 normally pushes the pawl 25 toward the lip 21 and into its latching position. Properly positioned upon the wall behind the door, is the keeper 29 of identical formation with the keeper 15, so that when the door is swung wide into its open position, the keeper head may enter between the pawl 25 and the lip 21 to latch the door and in its open position until it is manually released. The rock arm 27 extends through the door and upon the inner side of the latter is provided with the hand grip 30 so that the hold-back may be released without the necessity of the operator manipulating the parts of the mechanism behind the door.

From the foregoing it will be evident that Copies of this patent may be obtained for I have provided a latch which will securely hold a door either in its open or closed position, and that while it is quickly and easily operated to release the locking pawl from its keeper, it is also very positive in its hold upon the keeper until such manual actuation, so that the latch will not become engaged through accident or by reason of the probable failure of the parts to engage.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A latch comprising a base plate having a rectangular inclosure formed thereon, and a vertical extending lip forming one side of the inclosure, a pawl pivoted within the inclosure, said pawl and lip providing an entrance-way, a draw rod pivotally connected to the pawl and extending rearwardly through the frame, means for actuating said draw rod to withdraw the pawl, means normally pushing said pawl toward the lip, and a keeper having a head adapted to enter between the lip and the pawl and engage behind the latter.

2. A latch comprising in combination, a base plate and a strap carried by the base plate, said strap and base plate being shaped to form a rectangular inclosure, and having its outer vertical sides formed into a lip, a pawl mounted within the inclosure in substantially parallel relation to the lip, a draw rod pivoted to the lip and having a bearing in the second vertical side of the inclosure, means normally pressing the pawl toward the lip, means operative upon the draw rod to withdraw the pawl, and a keeper having a keeper head adapted to be projected between the lip andthe pawl.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK E. JONES.

Witnesses:

J AMES F. RANEY, FRED G. PAHMEYER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. G. 

